Federal policy on the military, 2017-2018

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This page tracked major events and policy positions of the Trump administration and the 115th United States Congress on the military from 2017 and 2018.

President Donald Trump stated that rebuilding the military was one of his main priorities as commander-in-chief. On March 23, 2018, Trump signed a $1.3 trillion spending bill into law. The bill included $695 billion in defense funding and $78 billion in Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) spending.

While signing the bill, Trump said, "For the last eight years, deep defense cuts have undermined our national security, hallowed our — and they just — if you look at what’s taken out, they’ve hallowed our readiness as a military unit, and put America at really grave risk. My highest duty is to keep America safe. Nothing more important. The omnibus bill reverses this dangerous defense." Trump said that the funding would be used to increase the numbers of troops, increase military pay by 2.4 percent, and increase the number of ships, planes, helicopters, tanks, and submarines.[1]

Major events and policy announcements appear below.

August 13, 2018: Trump signs NDAA into law

On August 13, 2018, President Trump signed the $717 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2019 into law. It passed the Senate by a vote of 87-10 on August 1, 2018, and the House by a vote of May 24, 2018.[2]

The bill proposed $617 billion in base spending, $69 billion for the Overseas Contingency Operations war fund, and $22 billion for nuclear weapons programs. It included funding to hire 16,000 active-duty troops and a 2.6 percent pay raise for members of the military, the largest pay raise in nine years. It proposed $25 billion for equipment maintenance and funding for ships, aircraft, and military vehicles. Additionally, the bill proposed measures to prevent military aviation mishaps and fatalities. It proposed establishing an independent commission to study military aviation safety and authorized $39 billion for aviation upgrades.[3]

June 18, 2018: Trump instructs Pentagon to establish Space Force

On June 18, 2018, President Donald Trump announced that he directed the Pentagon to create a sixth branch of the armed forces, called the Space Force. In 2017, the United States House of Representatives Committee on Armed Services attempted to create a space corp as a part of the Air Force in the annual defense policy bill. Opposed by Defense Secretary James Mattis, Air Force leaders, and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Joseph Dunford, the attempt failed. President Trump’s proposed Space Force, however, would be separate from the Air Force. He said, “We are going to have the Air Force and we are going to have the Space Force, separate but equal.”[4]

March 23, 2018: Trump issues memorandum banning most transgender individuals from serving in the military

On March 23, 2018, President Donald Trump issued a memorandum preventing most transgender individuals from serving in the military. The memorandum stated that "transgender persons with a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria -- individuals who the policies state may require substantial medical treatment, including medications and surgery -- are disqualified from military service except under certain limited circumstances."[5][6][7]

The memorandum did not change existing policy at the time that required the U.S. Department of Defense to continue accepting transgender recruits and those serving to continue serving. The Trump administration's policy was challenged by multiple groups who said banning transgender individuals from the military on the basis of their gender identity is unconstitutional.

On December 11, 2017, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly denied the Trump administration’s request to delay her earlier injunction against denying admission to transgender individuals into the military. She ordered that transgender recruits be allowed to join the military beginning January 1, 2018. Maj. Dave Eastborn, a Pentagon spokesman, said, “The Department of Defense will continue to comply with the federal court ruling and continue to assess and retain transgender service members."[8][9]

The policy was based on recommendations received in February 2018 from Defense Secretary James Mattis. He wrote in a summary of his recommendations, "In my professional judgment, these policies will place the Department of Defense in the strongest position to protect the American people, to fight and win America’s wars, and to ensure the survival and success of our service members around the world."[6]

Mattis' memo to Trump stated that the Department of Defense concluded there were "substantial risks associated with allowing the accession and retention of individuals with a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria and require, or have already undertaken, a course of treatment to change their gender. Furthermore, the Department also finds that exempting such persons from well-established mental health, physical health, and sex-based standards, which apply to all Service members, including transgender Service members without gender dysphoria, could undermine readiness, disrupt unit cohesion, and impose an unreasonable burden on the military that is not conducive to military effectiveness and lethality."[6]

Aaron Belkin, founder and executive director of the Palm Center, responded to the policy, saying, "In service to the ideological goals of the Trump-Pence base, the Pentagon has distorted the science on transgender health to prop up irrational and legally untenable discrimination that will erode military readiness." The Palm Center describes itself as an independent research institute that has conducted research on sexual minorities in the military.[10][11]

On March 26, 2018, Mattis was asked about the policy and his recommendations to Trump. He said that the military was "out to build the most lethal service. I think the statements stand on their own right now."[12]

On April 16, 2018, Judge Marsha Pechman, of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, ordered that an injunction she ordered against the August 25, 2017, policy be maintained, finding that the March 23, 2018, memorandum did not differ substantially from the August 25, 2017, memorandum.

The Trump administration appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, which, on July 18, 2018, rejected a request by the Trump administration to remove Pechman's injunction against implementation of the March 23, 2018, memorandum. In its ruling, the court wrote, "Appellants ask this court to stay the preliminary injunction, pending the outcome of the appeal, in order to implement a new policy. Accordingly, a stay of the preliminary injunction would upend, rather than preserve, the status quo. Therefore, we deny the motion for a stay[.]"[13][14]

January 22, 2019: SCOTUS grants Trump administration’s request to enforce transgender military policy

The U.S. Supreme Court approved the Trump administration’s request to enforce its policy preventing transgender individuals from serving in the military. In December 2018, the administration asked the court to enforce the policy while it was being challenged in lower courts. “Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan all indicated that they would have denied the government’s request,” according to SCOTUSblog.[15]

March 23, 2018: President Trump and Congress approve $700 billion in defense spending

On March 23, 2018, President Donald Trump signed Congress' $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill that included $700 billion for defense spending, which was the largest increase in 15 years. The new funding was dedicated to additional aircrafts, Navy shipbuilding, and missile defense. Funding was also put towards research into electronic warfare, space, and hypersonics.[16]

January 19, 2018: Secretary Mattis announces new National Defense Strategy

On January 19, 2018, Secretary of Defense James Mattis unveiled his new National Defense Strategy. The document focused on U.S. competition with China and Russia, which was a shift from the Obama-era focus on terrorism prevention. Mattis said, “We will continue to prosecute the campaign against terrorists, but great-power competition—not terrorism—is now the primary focus of U.S. national security.” The document also named North Korea and Iran as strategic adversaries.[17][18]

December 12, 2017: Trump signs NDAA

On December 12, 2017, Trump signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2018. It authorized $626.4 billion for the base defense budget and $65.7 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations. It included a 2.4 percent pay raise for service members, an increase of 20,000 active duty and reserve troops, a $4.4 billion increase for missile defense programs, and an increase in the numbers of ships, planes, and other military equipment. The NDAA passed the Senate on November 15, 2017, by voice vote. It passed the House by a vote of 356-70 on November 14, 2017. It was the 56th consecutive year that Congress had passed the defense policy bill.[19]

During the bill signing ceremony, Trump said, “In recent years, our military has undergone a series of deep budget cuts that have severely impacted our readiness, shrunk our capabilities, and placed substantial burdens on our warfighters. And great warfighters they are. History teaches us that when you weaken your defenses, you invite aggression. The best way to prevent conflict or be -- of any kind -- is to be prepared, and really be prepared. Only when the good are strong will peace prevail. Today, with the signing of this defense bill, we accelerate the process of fully restoring America's military might.”[19]

Trump also praised members of Congress for passing the bill with “overwhelming bipartisan support” and called on Congress to eliminate the defense sequester and pass a clean appropriations bill.[19]

September 8, 2017: Mattis sends letter to Congress saying that a continuing resolution would harm military readiness

See also: Federal policy on the budget, 2017-2020

On September 8, 2017, Mattis sent a letter to members of the Senate Armed Services Committee saying that a long-term continuing resolution would harm military readiness. He wrote, "Long-term CRs impact the readiness of our forces and their equipment at a time when security threats are extraordinarily high. The longer the CR, the greater the consequences for our force." Instead of passing a full budget, Congress can use a continuing resolution to keep the government funded at the previous year's spending levels. When this happens, the military is not allowed to begin new programs. On September 8, 2017, Trump signed a bill that funded the government until December 8, 2017.[20]

Mattis also said that the budget caps mandated by the Budget Control Act harm readiness. He wrote, "In the long term, it is the budget caps mandated in the Budget Control Act that impose the greater threat to the Department and to national security. BCA-level funding reverses the gains we have made in readiness, and undermines our efforts to increase lethality and grow the force. Without relief from the BCA caps, our air, land, and sea fleets will continue to erode." Mattis' full letter appears below.[20]


In response, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee John McCain (R-Ariz.) said, "A continuing resolution prevents the military from reprogramming funding to meet emerging needs. It prohibits the start of new programs to modernize for future threats. And it locks the Department of Defense into previous funding levels, mandating a level of spending that is $89 billion less than the fiscal year 2018 funding level passed unanimously in the Senate Armed Services Committee bipartisan markup of the National Defense Authorization Act. Congress’s vote to begin the year on yet another continuing resolution is inexcusable. It says that we are willing to accept the status quo for our military—where more service members are dying in training than on the battlefield. We must not repeat this mistake in December."[21]

August 25, 2017: Trump signs presidential memo directing DoD to prevent transgender people from enlisting in the military

On August 25, 2017, President Donald Trump signed a presidential memo instructing the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to prevent transgender people from enlisting in the military and requested that the department develop a plan to implement the ban by March 23, 2018. The memo also directed the DoD to stop paying for gender reassignment surgeries, unless the surgeries were already in progress. Trump directed Secretary of Defense James Mattis to decide how to handle transgender people already serving in the armed forces.[22]

On July 26, 2017, Trump tweeted about the policy change, writing, "After consultation with my generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail."[23]

October 30, 2017: Judge prevents enforcement of proposed ban on transgender military service personnel

On October 30, 2017, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued a preliminary injunction preventing enforcement of a proposed ban on transgender individuals from enlisting or serving in the armed forces. Several unidentified prospective and current servicemembers filed a motion to prevent implementation of the memorandum that Trump issued on August 25, 2017, arguing that the memorandum violated the due process guarantees of the Fifth Amendment. The administration moved to dismiss, arguing that, because the memorandum had not effected a change in policy and that the policy was still under review, the court lacked jurisdiction to intervene.

Holding that the plaintiffs were likely to prevail on their Fifth Amendment claims, Kollar-Kotelly rejected the government's argument that the court lacked jurisdiction. Kollar-Kotelly wrote,

“ The Memorandum unequivocally directs the military to prohibit indefinitely the accession of transgender individuals and to authorize their discharge. This decision has already been made. These directives must be executed by a date certain, and there is no reason to believe that they will not be executed. Plaintiffs have established that they will be injured by these directives, due both to the inherent inequality they impose, and the risk of discharge and denial of accession that they engender. Further delay would only serve to harm the Plaintiffs. Given these circumstances, the Court is in a position to preliminarily adjudicate the propriety of these directives, and it does so here. The Court holds that Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on their Fifth Amendment claim. ... The Court finds that a number of factors—including the sheer breadth of the exclusion ordered by the directives, the unusual circumstances surrounding the President’s announcement of them, the fact that the reasons given for them do not appear to be supported by any facts, and the recent rejection of those reasons by the military itself—strongly suggest that Plaintiffs’ Fifth Amendment claim is meritorious.

[25]

”

The Justice Department responded to the preliminary injunction, saying in a statement, “We disagree with the court’s ruling and are currently evaluating the next steps. Plaintiffs’ lawsuit challenging military service requirements is premature for many reasons, including that the Defense Department is actively reviewing such service requirements, as the president ordered.”[26]

December 6, 2017: Trump administration asks for emergency stay on accepting transgender military recruits

On December 6, 2017, the Trump administration asked a judge to allow the Pentagon to delay the requirement to begin accepting transgender recruits into the military on January 1, 2018. The motion from the government stated, “Defendants request that the Court stay the portion of its preliminary injunction requiring Defendants to begin accessing transgender individuals into the military on January 1, 2018, pending a decision by the D.C. Circuit on Defendants’ appeal."[27]

December 11, 2017: Judge denies Trump administration’s request to prevent transgender people from joining the military

On December 11, 2017, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly denied the Trump administration’s request to delay her earlier injunction against denying admission to transgender individuals into the military. She ordered that transgender recruits be allowed to join the military beginning January 1, 2018.[8]

In response to the ruling, the Justice Department filed an emergency request with a Washington, D.C.-based federal appeals court asking to keep the ban in place.[28]

December 29, 2017: Trump administration request for emergency stay on accepting transgender military recruits denied; Pentagon begins accepting transgender recruits on Jan. 1

The Trump administration's request to keep the ban on requiring the military to accept transgender recruits by January 1, 2018, was rejected by a Washington, D.C.-based federal appeals court and a Virginia-based federal appeals court.[29]


July 26, 2017: Trump announces that transgender individuals will not be permitted to serve in the military

On July 26, 2017, President Donald Trump announced that transgender individuals would not be permitted to serve in the military, reversing a policy instituted under the Obama administration. He wrote in a series of tweets, "After consultation with my generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail."[23]

July 21, 2017: Mattis orders review to eliminate unnecessary military training

On July 21, 2017, Secretary of Defense James Mattis ordered the creation of a working group to review all unnecessary training for members of the United States military. The group was directed to identify all the administrative and training requirements that do not focus on warfighting readiness. Mattis wrote, “I want to verify that our military policies also support and enhance warfighting readiness and force lethality.” The working group was also directed to examine “the retention or separation of permanently non-deployable Service members; professional military education to regain a concentration on the art and science of warfighting; requirements for mandatory force training that does not directly support core tasks; hiring practices for the civilian workforce; and a return to counterintelligence competencies for the Services law enforcement agencies."[30][31]

May 23, 2017: Trump releases FY 2018 DoD budget request

See also: Federal policy on the budget, 2017-2020

The Trump administration's requested budget for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for fiscal year 2018 was $574.5 billion, a 10.1 percent increase from 2017. There was also an additional request of $64.6 billion for the overseas contingency operations, which would fund military operations the U.S. might become involved in.[32][33]

The budget proposed fully reversing sequestration—automatic cuts put in place by the Budget Control Act of 2011—by increasing funding for national defense by $54 billion above the existing cap. The administration argued that the increase in funding was needed because “the world has grown more dangerous due to rising terrorism, destabilizing technology, and increasingly aggressive potential adversaries” since sequestration was implemented. With the smaller budget, the “military has become smaller, and deferred training, maintenance, and modernization have degraded its ability to prepare for future war while sustaining current operations.” To remedy these issues, the administration requested funding to increase the number of members of the military and to purchase 84 new fighter aircraft—70 Joint Strike Fighters and 14 Super Hornets—and eight new battle force ships.[32]

The budget request was around $15 billion more than former President Barack Obama’s budgeters had forecast for 2018, according to The Wall Street Journal. Todd Harrison, a budget expert and senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said, “This could easily be mistaken for Obama’s ninth budget request."[34]


March 16, 2017: Trump releases initial DoD budget request

In the Request for Additional Fiscal Year 2017 Appropriations, the DoD requested $24.9 billion in base budget funding and $5.1 billion in Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding.[35]

The funding would be used to:[35]

  • Accelerate the campaign to defeat the Islamic State and other terrorist organizations;
  • Improve military readiness (i.e., maintenance, spare parts, training time, peacetime flying hours, munitions, etc.);
  • Invest in items to begin improving mid-term and long-term readiness;
  • Provide a pay raise increase of 2.1 percent to military personnel;
  • Improve the military healthcare system; and
  • Repair damage to military facilities caused by storms.

January 31, 2017: Mattis releases DoD budget directives

The First 100 Days

In the first 100 days of the Trump administration, policy on the military was changed through the following legislative and executive actions:

  • In January 2017, Trump issued an executive action directing Secretary of Defense James Mattis to submit a report with actions that Trump and Congress could take to improve the military's readiness conditions, "including training, equipment maintenance, munitions, modernization, and infrastructure."
  • In May 2017, Trump secured a $12.5 billion increase in defense spending and an additional $2.5 billion in defense spending to fight the Islamic State (ISIS/ ISIL) in the bill to fund the government through the end of the fiscal year.

In accordance with Trump's executive action, on January 31, 2017, Mattis issued budget directives to "[i]mprove warfighting readiness;" "[a]chieve program balance by addressing shortfalls," and "[b]uild a larger, more capable, and more lethal joint force.”[36]

To address short-term readiness challenges, Mattis said that the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) would submit a fiscal year 2017 budget amendment request to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget by March 1, 2017. He said that the request would focus specifically on funding the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). He also said that the DoD would submit a budget request for fiscal year 2018 by May 1, 2017.[36]

To address long-term readiness challenges, Mattis said that the 2018 National Defense Strategy would boost the size of the armed services and "determine an approach to enhancing the lethality of the joint force against high-end competitors and the effectiveness of our military against a broad spectrum of potential threats.” Mattis also noted that DoD officials would look for ways to spend taxpayers’ dollars efficiently and provide for service members and their families.[36]

January 27, 2017: Trump releases memorandum on rebuilding the military

Below is the full text of the presidential memorandum issued by President Donald Trump on January 27, 2017:[37]

Presidential Memorandum on Rebuilding the U.S. Armed Forces

“

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including my authority as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States, I hereby direct the following:

Section 1. Policy. To pursue peace through strength, it shall be the policy of the United States to rebuild the U.S. Armed Forces.

Sec. 2. Readiness. (a) The Secretary of Defense (Secretary) shall conduct a 30-day Readiness Review. As part of this review, the Secretary shall:

(i) assess readiness conditions, including training, equipment maintenance, munitions, modernization, and infrastructure; and

(ii) submit to the President a report identifying actions that can be implemented within the current fiscal year and that are necessary to improve readiness conditions.

(b) Concurrently with the Readiness Review, the Secretary, together with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), shall develop a Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 budget amendment for military readiness, including any proposed reallocations.

(c) The Secretary shall work with the Director of OMB to develop levels for the Department of Defense's FY 2018 budget request that are necessary to improve readiness conditions and address risks to national security.

(d) Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretary shall submit to the President a plan of action to achieve the levels of readiness identified in the Secretary's Readiness Review before FY 2019. That plan of action shall address areas for improvement, including insufficient maintenance, delays in acquiring parts, access to training ranges, combatant command operational demands, funding needed for consumables (e.g., fuel, ammunition), manpower shortfalls, depot maintenance capacity, and time needed to plan, coordinate, and execute readiness and training activities.

Sec. 3. Rebuilding the U.S. Armed Forces. (a) Upon transmission of a new National Security Strategy to Congress, the Secretary shall produce a National Defense Strategy (NDS). The goal of the NDS shall be to give the President and the Secretary maximum strategic flexibility and to determine the force structure necessary to meet requirements.

(b) The Secretary shall initiate a new Nuclear Posture Review to ensure that the United States nuclear deterrent is modern, robust, flexible, resilient, ready, and appropriately tailored to deter 21st-century threats and reassure our allies.

(c) The Secretary shall initiate a new Ballistic Missile Defense Review to identify ways of strengthening missile-defense capabilities, rebalancing homeland and theater defense priorities, and highlighting priority funding areas.

Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of OMB relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) All actions taken pursuant to this memorandum shall be consistent with requirements and authorities to protect intelligence and law enforcement sources and methods. Nothing in this order shall be interpreted to supersede measures established under authority of law to protect the security and integrity of specific activities and associations that are in direct support of intelligence and law enforcement operations.

(d) This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

(e) The Secretary is hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

DONALD J. TRUMP[25]

”

During the signing ceremony at the Pentagon, Trump said, "First, I’m signing an executive action to begin a great rebuilding of the armed services of the United States, developing a plan for new planes, new ships new resources, and new tools for our men and women in uniform, and I’m very proud to be doing that. As we prepare our budget request for Congress ... our military strength will be questioned by no one, but neither will our dedication to peace, we do want peace."[38][39]

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ WhiteHouse.gov, "Remarks by President Trump at Signing of H.R. 1625," March 23, 2018
  2. ↑ Congress.gov, "H.R.5515 - John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019," accessed March 22, 2019
  3. ↑ The Hill, "House easily passes $717B defense authorization bill," May 24, 2018
  4. ↑ The Hill, "Trump directs Pentagon to create 'space force,'" June 18, 2018
  5. ↑ The Hill, "Trump moves to ban most transgender people from serving in military," March 23, 2018
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 The Washington Post, "Trump issues order supporting ban on many transgender troops, defers to Pentagon on new restrictions," March 23, 2018
  7. ↑ WhiteHouse.gov, "Presidential Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security Regarding Military Service by Transgender Individuals," March 23, 2018
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 The Wall Street Journal, Transgender Recruits Can Enlist in Military, Judge Says, December 11, 2017
  9. ↑ Politico, "Trump moves to ban most transgender troops," March 23, 2018
  10. ↑ Palm Center, "Palm Center: blueprints for sound public policy," accessed March 24, 2018
  11. ↑ The New York Times, "Trump Approves New Limits on Transgender Troops in the Military," March 24, 2018
  12. ↑ The Hill, "Mattis: Trump policies banning transgender troops 'stand on their own,'" March 26, 2018
  13. ↑ The Hill, "Court rules against Trump administration on transgender military ban," July 18, 2018
  14. ↑ Metro Weekly, "Judge rules to keep injunction blocking Trump's transgender ban in place," April 16, 2018
  15. ↑ SCOTUSblog, "Justices to review New York gun rights case," January 22, 2019
  16. ↑ The Hill, "Congress boosts funds for fighter jets, missile defense in military spending spree," March 23, 2018
  17. ↑ The Washington Post, "Mattis unveils new strategy focused on Russia and China, takes Congress to task for budget impasse," January 19, 2018
  18. ↑ ForeignPolicy.com "Mattis's Defense Strategy is Bold," January 22, 2018
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 WhiteHouse.gov, "Remarks by President Trump at Signing of H.R. 2810, National Defense Authorization Act for FY2018," December 12, 2017
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 McCain.Senate.gov, "Secretary Mattis letter to Senate Armed Services Committee," September 8, 2017
  21. ↑ McCain.Senate.gov, "Statement By SASC Chairman John Mccain On Letter By Secretary Mattis Detailing Impact Of Continuing Resolutions On Military," September 12, 2017
  22. ↑ The Hill, "Trump officially bans transgender people from military," August 25, 2017
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 The New York Times, "Trump Says Transgender People Will Not Be Allowed in the Military," July 26, 2017
  24. ↑ U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, "Jane Doe 1 et al v. Donald J. Trump et al.," October 30, 2017
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  26. ↑ The Wall Street Journal, "Judge Blocks Trump’s Transgender Military Ban for Now," October 30, 2017
  27. ↑ The Hill, "Trump asks for emergency stay on accepting transgender military recruits by Jan. 1," December 7, 2017
  28. ↑ CNN, "DOJ appeals ruling that transgender people are free to enlist in US military," December 11, 2017
  29. ↑ Reuters, "U.S. military to accept transgender recruits on Monday: Pentagon," December 29, 2017
  30. ↑ Military Times, "Mattis: Get unnecessary training off warfighters’ backs," July 25, 2017
  31. ↑ Military Times, "James Mattis: July 21 Memorandum," July 21, 2017
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 WhiteHouse.gov, "A New Foundation For American Greatness, Fiscal Year 2018," May 23, 2017
  33. ↑ Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy, "Definition of 'Contingency Operation,'" June 4, 2017
  34. ↑ The Wall Street Journal, "Trump’s Military Budget is Seen as a Modest Step Beyond Obama’s," May 23, 2017
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Comptroller.Defense.gov, "Request for Additional Fiscal Year 2017 Appropriations," March 16, 2017
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 Defense.gov, "Implementation Guidance for Budget Directives in the National Security Presidential Memorandum on Rebuilding the U.S. Armed Forces," accessed February 15, 2017
  37. ↑ WhiteHouse.gov, "Presidential Memorandum on Rebuilding the U.S. Armed Forces," January 27, 2017
  38. ↑ The Hill, "Trump signs directive spurring 'great rebuilding' of armed forces," accessed February 15, 2017
  39. ↑ NPR, "At Pentagon, Trump Declares His Aim Of 'Rebuilding' The Military," accessed February 17, 2017
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